INTEL HAS ANNOUNCED that it plans to sell nearly half of the shares in a new facility in Leixlip, Co Kildare.

Asset management company Apollo is set to invest $11 billion (around €10.11 billion) in exchange for a 49% equity stake in Fab 34, a manufacturing facility on the Leixlip campus that began construction in 2019.

Construction of Fab 34 is largely complete, according to Intel, and high-volume manufacturing of Intel Core Ultra processors on Intel 4 technology began there in September 2023. 

The deal between Intel and Apollo is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.

Intel has invested $18.4 billion (€16.92 billion) in Fab 34 to date.

Intel will maintain a 51% controlling interest and have full ownership and operational control of Fab 34 and its assets.

Apollo’s investment will be in a “joint venture entity related to Intel’s Fab 34″, a media statement said this morning, and this joint venture “will have rights to manufacture wafers at Fab 34 to support long-term demand for Intel’s products and provide capacity for Intel Foundry customers”.

Intel CFO David Zinsner said the agreement gives Intel “additional flexibility to execute our strategy as we invest to create the world’s most resilient and sustainable semiconductor supply chain”.

Our investments in leading-edge capacity in the US and Europe will be critical to meet the growing demand for silicon, with the global semiconductor market poised to double over the next five years.

“This transaction allows us to share our investment with an established financial partner on attractive terms while maintaining our strong investment-grade credit rating.”